José Arturo Guapacha

El Panorama

October 18, 1998, in Cartago, Colombia

Guapacha, editor of El Panorama, was fatally shor inside a car repair shop in the town of Cartago, in western Valle del Cauca Department, a region where drug-related violence is common. Guapacha, 39, had worked as a journalist for 18 years. He started his career at radio stations Radio Cadena Nacional and Todelar. At the time of his death, he was editor of El Panorama, a local magazine he founded in 1988. Local journalists informed CPJ that while there is no evidence that Guapacha's death was related to his work as a journalist, he had written stories criticizing drug traffickers and had published the names of people who owed back taxes to the municipal government.

Motive Unconfirmed: CPJ is investigating to determine whether the death was work-related.